Stormzy Claims His Black Student Scholarship Scheme Was Rejected By Oxford University

The BRIT-winning grime star said that Oxford University rejected the scholarship fund idea that Cambridge eventually took on.

Earlier this year, grime icon Stormzy scored a major coup in the unlikely field of academia when he revealed he had set up a scholarship for black British students with Cambridge University.

However, he’s claimed that he originally offered the idea to Oxford University, only for it to be rejected. He was speaking at the Barbican Centre in London on Wednesday night (November 7th) with other guests such as fellow rapper Akala and poet Benjamin Zephaniah, in order to launch his brand new Penguin publishing imprint, #Merky Books, and his own memoir ‘Rise Up’.

Journalist Dan Hancox, who is currently writing a book about the rise of grime into the British mainstream, attended the event and tweeted: “Tonight at the Barbican Stormzy revealed that the much-discussed scholarship he's funding at Cambridge Uni was first proposed to Oxford University, and they told him to get lost?! Incredible.”

Stormzy said that Oxford rejected his scholarship proposal

“We tried Oxford but they didn’t want to get involved,” the BRIT Award-winning rapper himself is reported as saying, to a surprised audience.

In the summer, 25 year old Stormzy revealed he would pay the undergraduate tuition fees for two students this year, and two more in 2019, to attend Cambridge University and provide them with maintenance grants for up to four years.

Explaining his act of philanthropy, he said he wanted to find the “genius and incredible minds” within the “badly behaved kids”.

“That is something I take personal pride in. I am always very inspired by that genius and… people who are smarter than me. Now I am in this position I want to do something for them. If you’re academically brilliant don’t think because you come from a certain community that studying at one of the highest education institutions in the world isn’t possible.”